Walking in Faith

After 45 years of peace, the people of Israel began to worship false idols and ignored the laws of the LORD again. 45 years is not a long time. People who were 20 when the peace began were only 65 when the peace began to end. They knew better yet their hearts were not right before the LORD. I wonder how often in a person’s life, do they forget the simple things yet some of the most impactful things? Quiet time, prayer, faith. While simple concepts, major impact to one’s relationship with God. I want to make my relationship with the LORD closer and closer each day that goes by.

Jephthat made a vow to the LORD that if He would hand over the sons of Ammon to him, he would offer the first thing that came out of the door of his house. Unfortunately, that first thing was his one and only daughter. What struck me about Judges 11 was that the daughter did not fuss, fight, try to run away, etc. She recognized that her father had given the LORD his word and that he had to keep his vow to the LORD. She had a chance to run away, when she went up on the mountain to weep but didn’t take that opportunity. That is faith and fear of the LORD! Obviously, I couldn’t even imagine having to consider doing that to any of my daughters. With that said, I certainly wouldn’t expect my daughters to simply go along with my vow and allow me to sacrifice them as an offering to the LORD. They would fight me tooth and nail. They would run away, they would scream, they would be crazy. Honestly, I can say that my two oldest girls (only seven and five years old) know God, love Jesus and would want to do whatever was pleasing to the LORD. But sacrifice their lives? I don’t think they are at that point. Now, the story doesn’t tell us how old is daughter was but I am assuming she was in her late teenage years (based on the statements around virginity and not yet having relations with another man). That is simply amazing to fathom.

Application: Do I have the faith of a mustard seed? Do I fear the LORD my God more than I fear death itself? Am I willing to do whatever it takes to trust in the LORD and live obediently to Him? Only when I completely give my life up to Him will I know that peace. I am not certain I am completely there yet. I struggle too much with making my own decisions, carving my own paths, etc. I need to really rely on God for these decisions in my life.